Goddess of the Hunt
by Taineyah
Summary: Psychopathic tendancies of Artemis, the new Potential, force the gang to have Lorne read her. what will he find?
1. New Arrivals

Disclaimer: Taineyah does not own the Buffy characters or their Universe.  She has no intention of  offending anyone with this.

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Chapter 1: The Arrival

                "Bloody hell, not another one!  This house is already crawling with stupid little  teeny-boppers."  Spike looked at the still bright windows.  "Damn it, it's at least another  hour before I can escape this house for even a minute."

                "You'll just have to deal," Buffy said.  "Artemis has finally arrived in Sunnydale and she's not going anywhere until the First is defeated.  You should be thankful, at least she's bringing her Watcher with her.  That's gonna help the male-female ratio a bit."

                "Yeah, just what we need; another American poof in the house."

                Buffy rolled her eyes "Thomas isn't American.  He's Canadian.  And the way I hear it, Canadians are practically British."

                "No, Canadians aren't British.  They're just plain odd."

                "If you're going to be stubborn!" Buffy exclaimed, throwing her hands up in frustration and walking away.  Spike smirked triumphantly at her back.

***

                "Girls!  Artemis and Thomas are here!  Come upstairs and meet them," Willow called into the basement, where the Potentials were training.

                Giles and the new arrivals were just walking up the driveway.  The Potentials all crashed into the living room window to see the new boy.  They were shocked by his appearance.  Standing at slightly over six feet with long auburn hair pulled back into a ponytail, he gave the impression of being as moody as a vampire, but as kind as the first rains after a drought.

                "He's, like, _so_ hot!" one of them said.

                "I know!!" another exclaimed.  

                Giles opened the door and brought the teens in.  The girl, who was slightly smaller than Dawn in build and height, had her short blue hair gelled into spikes.  She glanced quickly at the room before looking at its inhabitants.  The look she gave them had devil-may-care written all over it.

                ~Frost Queen~ Willow thought to Xander, raising her eyebrow.

                ~Tell me about it.  She's gonna be trouble~ Xander replied.  He looked at Buffy, his eyes clouded with concern at this new challenge.

                ~Think she's gonna pull an Annabelle?~ Buffy asked, mind racing as she imagined all the trouble this new girl could cause.

                ~I'm not sure...~ Willow was cut off, swiftly.

                "I heard that!" Artemis exclaimed, whirling to face the 3 friends.

                Willow, Buffy and Xander looked at each other, shocked.  There was a brief and deafening silence.

                "Aherm," Giles said, startling everyone.  "This is Artemis Floyd and her Watcher, Thomas Lavigne.  Thomas has a, um, rather extraordinary amount of luggage.  Will a couple of you come out to the car and help carry it in?" Giles shook his head at Artemis' strange behaviour.

                Spike came out of the kitchen and leaned in the doorway.  "What, the stupid bloody poof can't carry his own crap?" he asked.

                "My crap?" Thomas mimicked with a straight face as a knife flew precisely between two Potentials' heads and impaled itself solidly into the wood above Spike's head.

                Spike looked from Thomas to the knife and back again.  Smiling dangerously, Spike launched himself at the young Watcher.  Thomas neatly put a hand forward and threw Spike to one side.  Spike hit a wall and threw himself at the boy, and was again deflected

                "Spike!" Buffy yelled, attempting to rush forward to stop the battling testosterone.

                Artemis grabbed her arm.  "Don't you dare!  This is just getting good."

                Buffy struggled against the younger girl's grip.  Amazingly, she couldn't free herself.  She blinked in surprise as Artemis calmly took hold of her other arm.  Artemis didn't even seem to be straining herself.

                Spike launched himself off the wall again and actually managed to knock Thomas in the back of the head as he flew past.  Despite the pain in his head, Spike knew he had to teach this infant Watcher a lesson, or he'd think that he owned the place.  Spike paused at one side, realising that he'd have to use another plan of attack to win this fight.  In that split second, Thomas delivered a flying roundhouse to Spike's stomach.

                Spike doubled over, appearing to have the wind knocked out of him. Thomas turned to Artemis, demanding that she release Buffy.

                "Yeah, whatever," Artemis replied, giving Buffy a little shove.

                Thomas berated Artemis for her lack of respect, while Spike quietly snuck up behind him.  Artemis smiled insanely as she watched the vampire's silent approach. 

                Suddenly, Thomas felt a blinding pain crash through his skull.  He fell to his knees, stunned.  The world around him shimmered and blurred.  When it came back into focus, he was staring at a fully vamped Spike.

                "All right, let's call it a draw," Thomas muttered thickly, in a mock British accent.

                Spike blinked once and de-vamped.  "The Search for the Holy Grail!" he cried, astonished.

                Buffy drew herself up in front of Spike, distracting him from Thomas.  "Just what were you doing?!?"  She smacked him across the face and he winced.  "Have you gone insane again?  We don't hurt houseguests!" 

                "Couldn't let a child think he could just throw knives at whoever he wanted.  Someone'd have lost an eye."  Spike turned his attention back to the youth who was now rising to his feet.  "You watch Monty Python?"

                "Yeah," Artemis sneered.  "Can't get him to stop watching it.  Hell, he was watching that Monty Python crap when he got the call saying we had to come here.  Now, where the hell's your bathroom?"

                "Um, I'll take you on the grand tour," said Dawn, trying to avert any further conflict.  She knew that things were likely to get even nastier if Artemis didn't get out of Buffy's sight.

                "Let's go," Artemis sneered over her shoulder as she started up the stairs.

                After looking from person to person for a few seconds, the other Potentials flew out the door to get Thomas's stuff.  Buffy glared up the stairs to where her little sister and the new potential had just disappeared.  Giles stared at the young Watcher and Spike, who were now debating the merits of various sketches by Monty Python and acting as if they'd been best friends for years.

                "Well, that was rather eventful, wasn't it?" he asked Willow and Xander.

                "That's an understatement," Xander said, shocked.

                "We're gonna have our hands full," agreed Willow, eyes wide.

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I have nothing against Monty Python.  In fact, they're one of my favourite comedy troupes.  It's just Artemis' character who doesn't like them.  

If anyone realises the relationship between Artemis' first and last names (they both have something to do with the_________), they'll get a pat on the head and an ice-cream sundae.  (Hint: Artemis is the name of a goddess in either Greek or Roman mythology.  For Floyd, think music.)

There's your teaser.  Please Review.  (I'm assuming you read this already)


	2. I Don't Care

Disclaimer:  Taineyah does not own any of the characters from the Buffy universe.

Taineyah:  She does, however, own the Buffy Universe.

Disclaimer:  You do not!

Taineyah:  Uh huh!

Disclaimer:  NO, Joss Whedon and all those people do!

Taineyah:  Fine.  Be that way.

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            "Now girls, you have to remember that demons are demons, even when they look  human."  Buffy swung a sword idly, demonstrating that weapons were second nature to her.  "You have to learn to tell the difference between humans and...Artemis!" Buffy hollered, noticing that the blue-haired girl was listening to her headphones again.  She'd only been at the house for half an hour, and already she was proving to be a handful.

            "But I thought Artemis was human," Amanda said, confused.

            "She is, barely."  Buffy rolled her eyes and tossed the sword across the basement, severing Artemis' headphones from the CD player.

            Artemis opened her eyes.  "I was listening to that."  Her voice was cold and flat.

            "And you were supposed to be listening to me.  In case you hadn't noticed, we're up against a big bad here.  The First.  The evil that evil things fear, and its Bringers like to kill little Potentials like you.  Do you want to end up dead?"  Buffy was now standing over Artemis, who was sitting on the floor.

            "Does it matter?"  Artemis looked up at Buffy lazily.  "I don't give a damn."

            "First of all, what if your stupidity costs someone their life?"  Buffy picked up her sword and ran a hand down the flat of its blade.

            "Their own fault.  They shouldn't have been depending on me.  You can't trust anyone.  That's the first rule of survival."

            Buffy ignored her.  "Secondly, you're one of the last potential Slayers in existence.  If you die, it could mean the end of our line and the end of the world as we know it."

            "So what?  I didn't ask to be a Potential.  I didn't ask to get dragged out of my bed in the middle of the night and shoved into a basement in California to train for a war that I don't care about and the rest of the world doesn't even know about."  Artemis motioned around her.  "They didn't know about this until you told them.  No one will ever know about this.  No one will care."  She shrugged.  "Why should I bother trying to save the world?  It never wanted me.  It's spent the last 16 years trying to piss me off, and yet here I am, the weight of the world on my shoulders."

            Buffy glared at Artemis.  "As a Potential, you have only a small part of the world's weight on your shoulders.  I've had its full weight since I was 16.  We are Slayers.  We are Champions.  We only have one future: saving the world."

            "Again with the 'why should I bother?'"  Artemis stood, still leaning against the wall.

            "Because it's your responsibility."

            "So?  Responsibility is for morons who can't figure out how to get through life on their own.  I don't need anyone to lean on and I refuse to be the leaning post for anyone else."  Artemis crossed her arms across her chest and tried to appear unconcerned, but everyone could see her entire body tensing up.  She was ready and willing to fight.

            "You are the only thing standing between the order in this world and the chaos of the demons.  How would you like to see your family get slaughtered by a vampire?  How would you like to be killed by your father after he's become a vampire?"

            Artemis smirked and decided to ignore the questions.  "Do you honestly believe that 'order and chaos bit,' or are you just feeding us a line of crap like your idiot Watcher told you to?  You didn't believe this shit at my age, and you don't now.  No one actually believes all that bull."  

            "I do believe it.  Whether or not I want to or I did when I was younger is pointless.  I know that it's my destiny.  My fate.  I don't have any other choices and neither do you.  This is what we are.  I am the Chosen One.  We have all been Chosen."  Buffy placed the point of her sword on the floor and leaned on it.  Turning her head, she saw a mixture of confusion, fear and faith on the faces of the other Potentials.

            "You sound like that asshole that calls himself my Watcher.  Chosen, Chosen, Chosen." Artemis made her voice whiny and nasal.  "That's all he ever talks about.  I'm Chosen to be a Potential.  I could be Chosen to be the Slayer.  Well, I've Chosen to ignore this crap." Artemis slunk over to the stairs.

            "Where do you think you're going?" Buffy asked.

            "I told you: I've Chosen to ignore this crap.  Bye."  She waggled her fingertips sarcastically and left the basement. 

***

            "Why'd her Watcher come along?" Xander asked Giles.  "It doesn't seem to be standard operating procedure."

            "Artemis poses...almost legendary problems.  She was assigned her first Watcher when she was 13.  In the first three months that she had a Watcher, she drove him insane.  After that, she went through a Watcher every month or so.  They were completely useless for future work, having to be institutionalised as they were.  Several of them committed suicide.  After her tenth Watcher the Council realised that they had to do something different..."

            "They hired a demon?" Xander cut in.

            "What?  No, they didn't."

            "Then how come Spike didn't pass out when he attacked Thomas?"

            "No chip anymore, remember?" Willow made a 'duh' face.

            Giles wiped his glasses.  "As I was saying, they decided to do something different.  They pulled Thomas out of the Academy and gave Artemis a Watcher who hadn't graduated.  Because he wasn't fully trained as a Watcher, his theories on training Artemis weren't etched in stone.  He's been with her for nearly a year."

            "So he's here why?"  Xander repeated.  "This house is already packed to the roof."

            "He can control her better than anyone else, and with so many Slayers to look after, I don't want to nor do I have time to fight with Artemis."

            "Then why didn't you just leave her in Canada?"

            "We need to save all of the Potentials that we can.  She is, unfortunately for us, a Potential and an important part of the Slayer line's future."

***

            #_Holy crap.  I need a cigarette bad!_#  Artemis thought.  She rummaged through her backpack, spewing its contents across the floor.  #_Goddamn it.  Where are they!?!  I know I packed them.#_

Reaching the bottom of the bag, her hand closed on the metal box that kept her cigarettes safe and intact.

            #_Finally_.#  She opened the can and dumped its contents into her hand.  #_Last one.  I'll have to bum some more.#_

            As she headed out the back door, she bumped into Kennedy. 

            "Watch where you're going," Artemis snarled.

            "It was your fault.  Besides, I wanted to ask you something.  All of us are wondering--how is it that you're stronger than Buffy?  Are you a _real Slayer or something?"_

            "What?  I'm not.  I'm not the Slayer.  I'm only a Potential, like you."

            "Then how'd you hold her back earlier?  She's way stronger than any of us."

            "Oh, that.  It's a pressure point.  It relaxes the muscles in the upper body, but it still looks like the restrained person is struggling.  The orderlies at...I mean, go to hell.  You're just a ditzo-bitch like the others."  Artemis went outside.

            Artemis leaned up against the bench in the backyard and lit up.  As she tasted the smoke, her entire body relaxed.

            Spike watched from the shadows, unnoticed.  The sun wasn't completely down yet, so he didn't dare come out from under his duster.  #_So the little hellian smokes.  Buffy's gonna kill her when she finds out._#

            Just then, Buffy's head poked out of the back door.  "Artemis, would you come in here?"  Her voice was dangerously calm.

            "Yeah.  I'm on my way."  The younger girl put her cigarette out carefully and tucked what was left behind her ear. 

            Thinking that this was all starting to sound very intriguing, Spike crept along the shadowed areas of the yard and followed her inside.

            Buffy was standing in the debris from Artemis' backpack, one hand hidden behind her back.

            #_Shit._#  Artemis thought, noting the oversweet smile on Buffy's face.

            "Artemis, what do you suppose is behind my back?"

            "Oh goody!  A guessing game.  Ooh ooh!  No, it isn't a demon.  I can tell by the look on your face.   It couldn't be a broadsword.  I'd be able to see it.  Oh!  I know, your hand!!"  Artemis had the maniac mask of the truly sarcastic on her face.

            "You're in big trouble.  You'd better take another guess."

            "What is it?"

            Buffy extended her hand.  In it was a little plastic baggie containing dried plant matter.

            "Pot.  You brought pot into my home.  If social services found drugs in this house, they'd take Dawn away."  Buffy released a breath.  "If it weren't for the fact that Giles says I have to protect you, I'd send you outside to die."

            "I really couldn't care less.  Just give it to me and I'll get out of here."

            "No.  I'm going to flush it, but first, I want to know, what could possibly make you think it was okay to bring it here?"

            "Thomas said I could.  He always lets me have some."

            "Not in this house you can't."  Buffy glared at her young charge.  "I need to talk to Thomas.  The others are upstairs reading YM, so you go down to the basement and wait for me."

            "No.  I'm not going anywhere until you give me back my pot."

            "Don't fight the issue.  Go."

            "No."

            Spike grabbed Artemis' arm.  "I'll take her down."

***

            "Do you know what I found in Artemis' stuff?" Buffy asked, her voice betraying her rage.

            "Oh god.  Whatever it was, it wasn't alive, was it?  And if it was, please tell me it wasn't poisonous."  Thomas searched Buffy's face, scared.

            "It was pot.  In my house."

            "Oh, that's it?  I thought we were talking about something serious."  He started to turn away.

            Buffy grabbed his arm.  "This is serious.  Pot will dull her response times and get her killed.  What kind of a Watcher are you?"

            "I've found that if I allow her certain...freedoms, she listens to me.  I've actually managed to stay out of the nuthouse, which is more than I can say for her other Watchers.  Half of them committed suicide."

            "So you just let her carry drugs across the border and however many state lines it was?"

            "Yes.  Do you have a problem with that?"

            "Oh no, not at all.  I could just lose Dawn, get arrested and lose my job.  No biggie."

            "If it's that big of a deal, give her pot to me and I'll look after it."

            "I flushed it."

            "You did what?!?  Do you have any idea how much trouble she's going to cause now?!?  You shouldn't have pissed her off."

***

            "C'mon.  I know you smoke.  Give me a cigarette.  Please?"  Artemis looked up at Spike and batted her eyes like a flirtatious little school girl.

            "I've got well over a century's experience with children like you.  I'm not giving in."  Spike looked at his bed, with its chains, not wanting to give Artemis the satisfaction of having any attention paid to her.

            "Are you sure?"  She stepped a little closer.

            "I'm sure.  Buffy'd probably dust...You have no right to touch me there."  He looked down in shock at Artemis' wandering hand.

            "Come on Spike.  You know you like it.  I can feel it in your eyes. The fear... The need... it's all there.  It's the same with every guy.  They're all interested.  They know I'm different, dangerous even, and they always give in."  She deftly switched her grip.

            "I'm not.  Get you hands off.  She'll dust me if she sees this."  He stepped away, pushing her gently.

            Artemis stepped forward and pressed herself against his side.  "Just relax."

            "I can't let you do this.  It's wrong."  Spike looked slightly panicked.

            "Just close your eyes and pretend I'm Buffy.  It isn't hard."  She leaned against him, up on her toes.  "But it's getting there," she whispered giddily.

            "Don't.  Just... just get away from me."  He tried to escape again, but she stuck to him like glue.  "Stop."

            "I'll tell you what.  If you can look me straight in the eye and mean it when you say you don't like this, I'll leave you alone.  If not, you give me a cigarette."  She looked at him carefully.  "Deal?"

            Figuring that it was worth a shot and knowing that he was a world class liar, Spike replied, "Deal."  He took a deep breath.  "I hate..."  He closed his eyes and moaned.  When he opened them a moment later, he hissed, "You cheated!  That wasn't fair."

            "I kept up my end of the bargain.  I never said I wouldn't go down your pants."  She shrugged and put out her hand.  "Cigarette."

            "Fine.  Just don't tell Buffy.  She'll kill me."  He handed it to her.

            Artemis dropped it into the pocket of her knee-length leather coat.  She walked across the basement and sat on his bed.  "I should have a harmonica.  She's probably gonna leave me in this dungeon forever."

            As if on cue, Buffy's head popped through the door.  "I've talked it over with Giles and we've decided on your punishment.  You're going to stay down here on your own, all night.  I'll send down food in a while."  #_God,I'm turning into a parent.  Dishing out punishments.  Ick.#_

In reply, Artemis curled up on Spike's bed and pretended to sleep.

***

            After an hour or so, she really was asleep.  The nightmare attacked her from nowhere.

            _A twelve year old Artemis entered the nursery, with its pale pinks and little ornaments.  Sunlight trickled in around the curtains, bathing the floor in liquid gold.  She brushed her long brown hair over her shoulder, so that she wouldn't wake the baby.  She silently approached the crib, where her younger sister was sleeping.  Smiling gently, Artemis put her hand on the side of the baby's face. _

_            "Hush, little baby, don't cry."  Her voice was soft and soothing.  "I am Artemis.  You are Diana.   I came first.  Even in mythology, I came first, cause the Greeks made up Artemis, and the Romans took her and made up Diana.  I should be the one they love, not you.  I don't want to die and leave them with you.  I want them for myself.  You're going to die now."  _

_            The warm light that seemed to flow out of her yellowy green eyes turned icy and Artemis covered Diana's mouth and nose with the palm of her hand.  The baby woke up and started struggling._

_            #I'm a genius.  They'll never figure out it was me.  They'll think it was SIDS.  As long as there's no mark, people always think it's SIDS.  It's a good thing we have the discovery channel.#   She chuckled softly._

_            "I'm gonna be the one who grows up, not you.  This is my life.  They're my parents.  They don't belong to you.  I don't care what that stupid fortune teller said.  She was wrong.  She has to have been.  You're gonna die young.  I'm not gonna be the Slayer.  I'm gonna be the genius, not you. I have to prove to them that she was wrong.  That I'm gonna be just as great as anyone else."_

_            Diana kicked her feet feebly, trying to cry out as she was being smothered.  Her kicks were rapidly becoming weaker._

_            "Damn it, this is supposed to go quickly.  Die, you stupid little baby.  If they don't have you, they'll have to love me again."  Artemis put a little more pressure on the infant's face._

_            All of a sudden, the door burst open, and Artemis' parents came in._

_            "The baby!!" Artemis' mother shrieked.  "What are you doing to her?"_

_            "Killing her," Artemis replied. _

_             Artemis' father picked her up easily and threw the diminutive twelve year old across the room.  Discovering that the baby wasn't breathing, he started artificial respiration.  This threw Artemis into a panic, so she didn't notice her mother rush out the door._

_            "No!  don't save her.  She has to die so I can live.  She has to die."  Artemis shrieked something indecipherable.  "Please let her die.  It'll change everything the fortune teller said.  It'll make it all lies.  It'll make me never become the Slayer."  Artemis drew herself up against the wall and started crying.  She looked at her father pitifully and whispered, "Please, I want to live."  She started pounding her sides and screaming one long, high note._

_            Everything became a watery blur and she went unconscious as her mother ran back in and injected her with something that the doctor had given her at the appointment they'd had the week before.  The heavy sedative kept Artemis out for hours._

_            When finally she opened her eyes again, the bright, cheery face of a nurse greeted her. _

_            "Good morning, dear.  Welcome to Snowy Pines Psychiatric Hospital."_

            Artemis woke up in a cold sweat, bruised and stretched out on the floor.  Thinking back, she realised that she hadn't had that nightmare in months.  She wrapped her coat around her more snugly and prepared to stay awake all night.

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Thank you for reading.  Please review.  The next chapter should be up in a week.


	3. Skeletons in the Closet, Unite

A quick author's note:  This is as though Buffy had never gone on the date with Principal Wood and Chloë had never died.  Basically, anything from the date on hasn't happened, and quite likely never will.

Disclaimer: Taineyah does not own any of the Buffyverse characters.

Taineyah: Would you quit saying that already?  I think everyone's figured that out already.

Disclaimer: But what if someone hasn't?  Remember: lawsuits are bad.

Taineyah:  I don't care.  *puts hands over ears and dances* Tra la la!  I'm not listening.  Tra la la!  I can't hear you!

Disclaimer:  *Rolls eyes* I'm not even gonna bother.  Let's just get on with the story.

Taineyah:  Fine.  Let's get started.

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Artemis stepped out into the glare of the streetlight, having finally found what she was looking for. 

"A bar," she whispered happily.  It wasn't that she hadn't been able to find any other bars in Sunnydale, it was just that they were all too upscale to fall for her fake ID.

She went in and ordered the first drink she'd had in nearly a week.

***

"Where'd she go?" Buffy asked Chloë, her hazel eyes sparking.

"I don't know.  She said she was going out and then she took off.  She didn't say where."  

"Are you sure?  Was she wearing an outfit for clubbing or patrolling or what?  Think about it.  We have to find her."  Buffy ran a hand through her hair.

"She was wearing her usual clothes.  Little green tubetop, long brown coat, baggy pants and oversized workboots.  She didn't give any clues."

"Did she have any weapons?"

"I didn't see any..."

"Then that rules out patrolling, probably.  Can you think of anything?"

"No.  I'm sorry."

Buffy saw the distress on the younger girl's face and realised that she was being too abrupt.  "It's okay, Chloë.  At least you told me she'd left."

"She locked me in a closet.  Was I supposed to say I'd locked myself in?"  Chloë rubbed her hand where she'd been pounding on the door.  It was an angry red, but there wasn't any severe damage.  It'd be fine by the next day.

Buffy smiled.  "You're right.  Why don't you join the others in the basement?  I've got to speak to some of the adults."

Chloë left and Buffy went into the kitchen, where her friends, and Thomas, were taking a much needed break from what Spike called the "Teeny-bopper Invasion."

"Why do I have the feeling our break's over?" Spike asked, seeing Buffy's exasperated look.

"'Cause it is." Buffy looked around.  "We have a problem."  Her eyes stopped on Thomas.

"What?" Thomas asked, looking up from the scimitar he was sharpening.  His habit of always having something sharp to polish or play with was disconcerting, especially to the Potentials.

"It seems that your little pet Potential has taken off into the night.  Chloë saw her leaving and she locked Chloë in a closet."  Buffy watched his face, which turned from absolute neutrality to confusion.

"She did?" Thomas asked, incredulously.  "She promised me she'd tell me if she was leaving."  He replaced the scimitar into its sheath.

"You believed her?"

"She doesn't lie very often."  He stood up and hung the sheath off of his belt.

"Well, now we have to go find her.  Xander, Giles and Willow, you stay here.  Look after the girls.  Spike and Anya, head out towards the Bronze."

Before she could continue, Spike interrupted.  "No offence to Anya, but I can find the Hellian better and faster on my own."

"No one goes anywhere on their own."

"Except for you?"

"I was going to take Thomas with me."

"I'm going on my own."  Spike disappeared out the back door.

Buffy shook her head and sighed at the vampire's stubbornness.  "Anya, stay here then.  Will, can you try a locator spell?  I'll be on my cell.  Call me if you find her.  Thomas, you're with me."  She too, disappeared into the darkness, Thomas falling silently into step behind her.

***

#_I saw Chloë just before the sun went down.  That means the Hellian's been gone an hour, maybe two.#  Spike stopped in his tracks.  #_Pissed off bad girl teen.  Why am I headed for the Bronze?  She'll be at a bar._#_

He changed his direction.  He knew where she'd probably be.

A few minutes later, he was stopped outside of a rundown little establishment in the warehouse district.  They'd serve anyone who put money on their counter.  Taking a deep and unnecessary breath, he went in.

As he'd suspected, the girl was sitting at one of the grubby tables in the dark back corner.

"Found ya, you little moron."  He sat next to her. 

She looked at him dazedly.  "Get the hell away from me."  She lurched away from the table, unsteadily.

"What, you can't hold your drink?" Spike mocked as she stumbled out the door.

"I'm fine.  Now go away."  

"I have to take you back."  He tried to grab her shoulder.

"No, you don't."  She started running, barely able to stay on her feet.

Spike kept up with her easily.  "Listen, Hellian, you're drunk.  You can hardly stand.  Why don't you come with me and have a nap?" 

Artemis didn't answer.  She tripped over a rock and fell headlong on the pavement, gashing her chin.

Seeing his chance, Spike picked her up.  "You're coming with me, whether you like it or not."

"I don't have to listen to you.  You're not older than me."

"I beg your pardon, but you're wrong.  I'm about a hundred years older than I look."

"Okay, so maybe a little."  Artemis closed her eyes, passing out.  Blood was running freely from her chin, the smell making Spike hungry.

"Assholes in the bar probably don't even have a liquor license," Spike said.  "They should know better than to give someone that much."

Spike trotted her back to the house.  He really needed to get to the fridge.  He was absolutely starved. 

As he walked up the walkway, she woke up and said, "For a dead guy, you're pretty cute."  Then she puked all over both of them.

Spike looked distastefully at the chunky liquid running all over his jacket.  #_At least she got some of it out of her system,# _he thought.

"I've got her!" he called as he got into the house.

"Thank god," Giles said.  When he saw them, though, he wasn't so sure.  "What did she run into out there?  Demons?  Bringers?"  Anya, Willow and Xander piled out of the kitchen to see what was wrong.

"A bar and then a sidewalk.  She was already plastered by the time I found her.  She tried to run, but she fell on her face."

"Anya, I think that you had better take Artemis and get her cleaned up."

"I'm not touching her," Anya said, wrinkling her nose.

"Willow?"  Giles wiped his glasses tiredly.

"No way.  I'd be sick all over the place."  Willow looked rather green at the thought.

"Bloody hell, you girls are wimps."  Spike looked at them.  "I'll take her and clean her off.  I need to rinse my jacket anyway."

"Spike, it's not like you have the best track record with girls and bathrooms," Xander said.

"Yeah," Anya chimed in.  "That's where you tried to rape Buffy."

Everyone looked at Anya.  (A/N: you know, that "that was a serious faux pas, you shouldn't say that aloud" look?)

"I'm not going to hurt the Hellian.  Bring me up some blood, though.  I'm starving."  He went up the stairs.

***

Buffy and Thomas looked at the girl who was now sleeping on the couch.  The bandage on her chin stood out starkly against her skin. An oversized hoody covered her hair and she had a pair of Chloë's Winnie the Pooh pajama bottoms on, making her look very  young and innocent.  She could have easily passed for twelve or thirteen years old, instead of her 16. 

"What are we gonna do with her?" Buffy asked.

In a rare show of emotion, Thomas's voice cracked as he said, "I've had my hands full just keeping her alive.  She could be so sweet, if only..."  He was cut off as someone knocked at the door.

Buffy sighed as she went to let what she expected to be another Potential in.  The door opened to reveal a green skinned demon with red horns and a dark haired girl in her late teens or early twenties.

"Hi B."  

Buffy's jaw dropped.  

"Aren't you going to let us in?" Faith asked.

****************************************************************

I'd like to send a special thank you out to Darklight, who gave me the information I need to explain Faith's appearance in this story.  Please read the stories that Darklight has put up on this site.  You really should.  They're really good.  (I would have put this in with the last chapter, but it would have ruined the surprise.)

Please review.


	4. Punishment?

Time for Chapter 4.  It isn't my best work, but it's a moving chapter.  It's gonna make it semi-possible to introduce the _real_ plot.

Disclaimer:  You know the drill.  Taineyah doesn't own anyone except Thomas and Artemis.

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_            "Krystal, she's only a little girl.  She can't understand all this talk about demons and dying."  Artemis' grandmother was telling Artemis' mother off, unaware that Artemis was hidden behind the couch._

_            "She's a future Slayer.  She can handle it.  She's practically a superhero."_

_            "She's a six year old girl.  No child can handle the knowledge you're imparting on her."_

_            Krystal sighed.  "She needs to understand, so she'll know what she has to die to protect.  When she becomes the Slayer, she'll be stuck at wherever she's assigned.  Artemis will never get to see the world if we don't show it to her now."_

_            "She'll never have friends or any part of the real world if you don't send her back to school."_

_            "She'll be fine.  I took her out of school because she was causing fights and because I want to spend more time with her."_

_            "And what will happen the day you and Matt decide to have another child?  How will she accept that she isn't your only focus anymore?"_

_            "Mum, we can't have anymore children..."_

_            "You told me you could never have children, but Artemis is here now."_

_            "She's strong.  She'll deal with anything life sends her."_

_            "She's also very fragile.  You're going to destroy that little girl.  You're going to make her too old to be a child.  You're going to kill her."_

_            "I'd never hurt my princess.  Never.  I'll kill anyone who lays a hand on her."_

_            "I don't mean her body.  Who do you think she's going to become, being raised as she is?"_

_            "The strongest Slayer the world's ever known.  No other Slayer's known what she was and beened trained from the moment of her birth."_

_            "No other Slayer's parents went to a demon and had their unborn child's entire future read, either.  She's going to grow up and hate the world that she has to save.  She needs to gain the love of others."_

_            "She has our love.  That's all she needs!"_

_******_

"What the hell!" Buffy exclaimed.  "You're supposed to be in jail._"_

"I broke out. Wesley needed help recapturing Angelus, so I escaped."  Faith tapped the doorjamb impatiently.

            "Angelus?  What happened?  What's going on?"

            "Let me in and I'll tell you."

            The green demon spoke, for the first time.  "Honey-hair, can we come in?  I might start calling unwanted attention from the neighbours."  He looked pointedly at a bright window across the street.

            "Who are you?" Buffy asked, unwilling to let random demons into her house.  

            "You must be Buffy.  I'm Krevlorneswath of the Deathwok Clan.  Call me Lorne.  I've heard so much about you from Angel and Cordy."  He extended a hand to Buffy.

            She turned to Faith.  "Is he evil?" 

            Faith smirked.  "I'm a great one to ask.  But no, he's not."

            "Really, I'm a great guy.  I left my home dimension because I _wasn't evil."_

            Buffy let them in.  Faith marched straight into the living room.

            "That one of the Potentials?" Faith asked, pointing to Artemis.

            Buffy was dumbstruck.  "How do you know about the Potentials?" she demanded, as soon as she found words again.  She reached over and tapped Faith on the shoulder.  Faith was not ghostly or passy throughy.

            Faith stepped away from Buffy, brushing imaginary dirt from her sleeve.  "All the demons in Sunnydale are talking about the new "Slayer Street Gang."  Apparently they've seen the Potentials training and stuff."

            "Faith felt it neccesary to make a quick patrol before we came here," Lorne added.

            "Okay.  Fair enough. Except for the part with Faith breaking out of prison to capture Angelus!"

            "I guess that needs some explaining."

            "Just a little."

            Thomas was still standing in the middle of the living room.  "Who are you?" 

            "Not one to waste words, are you?  I'm Faith, the other Slayer and former murderer.  You are?"

            "Thomas Lavigne.  Watcher and swordsmaster."

            Buffy gave him a questioning look before turning back to Faith.  "Quit stalling.  Spill, or I kill you."

            "You won't.  I'm the murderer, not you," Faith shot back.  "But I'll tell you anyway."  She paused.  "This big, unkillable Beast turned off the sun in L.A., so Wesley had someone take out Angel's soul, because they thought that Angelus knew something."

            Buffy looked stunned.

            "Angelus was typically unhelpful, and then they discovered that Angel's soul was missing.  They couldn't replace it, unless they could find it.  They tried this spell, that was supposed to return it, even if they didn't know where it was.  Lorne apparently read that he had a soul and they thought it had worked."

            "Read?"

            "Shut up, okay?  So anyway, Cordelia let Angel out of the cage they had him in.  It turned out he was still Angelus." 

            "But he's okay now, isn't he?"

            "Wait for it.  I'm the one telling the story.  He left and then Wesley came and told me.  I busted out through the glass in the visitors area.  Angelus killed the Beast and the sun turned back on.  Angelus was still loose, so after I recovered from some serious Beast inflicted wounds, I captured him.  Right now, he's locked up in the basement of the Hotel.  They're trying to fix him right now."

            "So that's it?"

            "That's the story.  I decided to come out here because I heard some rumours that the Hellmouth had gone hyperactive.  Lorne was sick of listening to Angelus, so he came with me."

            "Angelus thought it was funny to make me read him, over and over again.  It was downright painful."

            "Reading him?"

            "When people sing around me, I read their auras and such.  When Karitas was still in business, I kind of acted as a therapist."

            "Karitas?"

            "A bar and nightclub.  Demons couldn't be violent in there.  It was one of the few places where humans and demons could coexist peacefully, until Angel had to blow it up."

            "Oh."

            "So, do you need our help?" Faith looked at the chaos in the living room.  It hadn't been cleaned up from the night before, when the first two Austin Powers movies had been playing on TMN.

            "Not really," Buffy said, nervous at having Faith around, and still unsure about the new demon.

            "Yes we could."  Thomas was looking at them, his arms crossed.

            "Thomas, you don't know Faith very well.  Or at all.  I get that, but she's dangerous."

            "Which is why we need her.  She could be a real asset to our side."

            "She's a murderer.  That means she's killed people.  Human people.  We can't have her here, not with the Potentials."

            "I'm still here."  Faith was looking at Thomas, trying to figure out why he was standing up for her.

            "I know.  Thomas, let's take this to the kitchen, okay?"

            "No.  She needs to stay.  We can't pass up any opportunity that comes knocking at our door."

            "With her track record, she's no opportunity."

            "Sensei always told me that people can change, and that we can't judge someone based on their past."

            "Fine.  I'll let her stay until Giles wakes up.  Then I'm gonna let him put an end to this."

***

            Giles, who had spent the night on the floor in Buffy's room, stretched and yawned.  When he noticed Buffy sitting on the bed, he scrambled to find his glasses.  Once he put them on, he noticed that Buffy was aiming a small crossbow at the door.  

            "What's wrong?" he asked.

            "Faith's here."

            "How long has she been here?"

            "Most of the night.  Thomas wouldn't let me kick her out.  She has a friend with her."

            "Someone from the prison?"

            "No.  A demon.  Lorne.  She says he isn't evil."

            "Why didn't you send her away?"

            "I tried!  Thomas thinks she'll be a useful ally."

            "He may have a point there...  She is a good fighter, as well as being the Slayer."

            "_A_ Slayer.  And a murderer.  And a jailbreaker.  She's bad news, Giles.  What if the First gets to her in the night and she murders all the Potentials.  It's not safe to have her here."

            "Then we'll find her somewhere else to stay at night.  She may indeed prove to be useful."

            "And what about her demon friend?"

            "He can stay with her.  We don't know yet what skills he may have for our battle."

            Buffy looked at Giles.  For the first time in her life, he had chosen a side that she wasn't on.  For the first time, by Buffy's estimation, Giles had chosen to side with evil without having a spell cast on him.  "I hope she kills you first."

            Giles wiped his glasses tiredly.  It was going to be a long day...

******

            Artemis clenched her eyes shut against the bright sunlight streaming in the living room window.  Her head was pounding, and she didn't have a clue how she'd gotten back to Buffy's house.

            "Get up."  Thomas towered over his Potential.  "It's time to train."

            "Tom, I'm sick.  I don't feel like getting up."

            "You have a hangover.  With those Slayer healing abilities you have, you'll be fine in about ten minutes.  Now get up."

            "What crawled up your ass and died?"

            "You lied to me."

            "So?"

            "You need to learn discipline.  You must train."

            "You mean you're punishing me?"

            "If that's how you choose to see it."

            "I'm not even dressed."

            "Your clothes are by your feet.  Take them up to the bathroom and get dressed.  I'll be waiting in the basement."


	5. Psycho

                The unmistakable clash of metal hitting metal resounded through the house, amplified by the hard walls of the basement.  Thomas flicked Artemis' short sword away with his much larger _katana_.  This, he knew was where he belonged.  In a training room, swinging his blade against a foe who was physically stronger than he was.

                She thrust again, barely missing her mark, and he parried, swinging her sword down to the floor, where she would have difficulty blocking him.  She took her left hand from the hilt of her blade, using her weaker side, with a one handed grip, to gain speed in a fast spin upwards.  As he relaxed for a split second, allowing his trainee to regain her advantage, just so he could show her how it could be taken, he kept his defensive up.

                Before he could register that it had gotten into her hand, she threw the dagger that she kept in a hip sheath at him, forcing him to drop his attention from her for a split second in order to deflect the tiny, yet potentially deadly, blade.  She swung, hitting him in the chest with her sword. 

                "Hit."  He said it softly.

                She dropped her sword to her side.

                "You weren't supposed to use that dagger," he said, flipping it to her with the tip of his _katana_.  "This was supposed to be a training exercise in swordsmanship."

                "You told me before to use whatever advantage I can come up with."  She re-sheathed her precious dagger, a solid silver relic of days gone by, when she had been an only child, being trained by her parents to save the world.

                "In the real world, yes.  This isn't the real world."  He glared at her.

                "What the hell is the real world?" Artemis enquired.  "I mean, reality is supposed to be all 'magic doesn't exist, demons aren't real and there are no monsters under your bed.'  At least, that's what my classmates always told me.  How do you define real?"

                Thomas was stumped.  He, like Artemis, had grown up knowing about demons and magic.  He'd been born into a Watcher family, but his parents had been murdered when he was young, and he had been raised by his sensei.  

                His sensei was one of the _hanta-kira no akuma_.  His entire life had been devoted to mastering the sword and destroying evil.  He had trained Thomas in swordsmanship, basically since Thomas was able to support the weight of a sword.  The day Thomas had gone to the Watcher's Academy had been one of his sensei's proudest days.  

                Sensei understood that Thomas had needed to leave with Artemis, and that they might never return.  The day that Thomas had left for the Academy, he and his sensei had come to a silent agreement.  All Thomas ever had to say to have full permission to leave, at any time, was the word _akuma_.  It meant demon.  

                Artemis realised that he was taking awhile to answer, but chalked it up to him having to translate his thoughts into English.  Although his English was flawless and virtually unaccented, Japanese was still Thomas's first language.

                "I guess," he started, softly, "that reality is the truth, and that the real world is anything beyond the walls of the training room."

                "So the training room isn't real, and it doesn't matter if I do this?"  Artemis slashed the punching bag which hung from the ceiling.

                "Artemis!  You must curb your destruction."  He swung his sword at her, and she ducked, the blade just grazing her spiked hair.

                Artemis came at him again, and in the ten minutes of graceful, ordered chaos that ensued, she was disarmed four times, and hit seven.  The hits bruised her legs and chest, but still she fought.  He was better than her, any day, any time, but she was stronger and he had trained her.  She knew a few of his tricks.  Still, it surprised her when he faked going to the left side of her head, then swung around and came at her less protected right side. 

                "If this were the outside world, you would now be dead," Thomas said to her prostrate form.

                "Bravo," came a slightly mocking voice, from the top of the stairs.  "You train your Slayer well."

                "Good morning, Faith," Thomas said.  "She's not a Slayer yet.  I pray that it never becomes necessary for her to replace you or Buffy."

                "Who the hell are you?"  Artemis picked herself up and dusted off her coat.

                Faith came the rest of the way down the stairs, and extended her hand.  Smirking, she said, "Faith.  Slayer.  You are?"

                "Artemis Hebe Floyd.  Future Slayer."

                "Potential," Faith corrected.  "You can't know that you will be a Slayer."

                "Future.  I didn't get sent to a nuthouse for a year because I was a mere Potential."

                "You were in a nuthouse?"  Faith looked skeptical.  "What'd ya do, try to kill yourself?"

                "Nah.  I didn't stoop that low.  I tried to kill my baby sister.  You _don't_ want to mess with me."

                "I've spent that last little while in prison for murder.  I think you'd be better off not messing with me."

                Artemis answered Faith by swinging her sword at the Slayer.  Faith ducked into a roll and came up next to Thomas, who was standing a few feet away, next to a small rack with several other swords on it.  She grabbed for his _katana_, which he held out of her reach while he handed her a dagger.  Seeing this, Artemis dropped her sword and drew her preferred weapon, the dagger on her hip.

                "Think you can beat me, Arty?" 

                Enraged at hearing Faith use the nickname her family had always called her by, the one she hadn't heard since the day her first Watcher had appeared on her doorstep, Artemis lunged at Faith.  She held the dagger like a street fighter holds a knife--turned inwards against her forearm, perfect for reaching out and slashing at an opponent.

                Faith reacted quickly, kicking at Artemis' wrist and causing her to nearly drop the dagger.  Artemis curled inwards on herself, forcing Faith to get closer in order to attack again.  Artemis had seen opponents like this before.  They'd never bide their time.  They always wanted action.

                Predictably, Faith came in close and raised the dagger to hit Artemis, sacrifice style.  As the blade descended, Artemis reared up, knocking Faith's arm aside and slamming her to the ground.

                "Cry Uncle," Artemis commanded, her razor-sharp dagger pressed against Faith's throat.

                "Like hell I will, Psycho."  Faith smiled and drove her knee upwards into Artemis' stomach.  

                Faith launched herself to her feet, staring Artemis down as Artemis put a hand to her side.

                "Excellent fighting," Thomas said, believing this to be an unforeseen training session.  "I'll take over now Faith."

                Faith ignored him and punched Artemis in the face, causing blood to pour freely from Artemis' nose and mouth. 

                Artemis looked down and saw blood trickling down her front, soaking her tube top before it began running down her stomach.  "You're gonna pay for this."

                Artemis attacked again, viciously stabbing in and out with her right fist, the dagger safely back in its sheath.  She moved very quickly, doing the work of two hands with her one and therefore surprised Faith when she came in with a strong left hook to Faith's jaw. 

                After a moment more of this, both the Slayer and the Potential were bleeding from numerous small wounds and scratches, as Faith kept her dagger out.  They were clearly out to kill.  

                Thomas looked at the women, who were absolutely consumed with their fight, and couldn't see a way to break them up without hurting them, and most likely himself, in the process.  Artemis had Faith down again.  Seeing his chance, he launched himself at Artemis, knocking her to the ground.

                Faith, who was still slightly injured from her adventures in LA a mere 48 hours before, stayed down as Thomas held a struggling Artemis against the floor.  He knew that he wouldn't be able to hold her for long--Slayers, even Potentials, were naturally stronger than most humans, and Artemis had been in training since she was old enough to walk.

                Artemis broke an arm free and started beating him around the head.  He used one arm to block, while trying to hold her with the other.  A second later, she broke free and came up in a fighting stance, ready to knock him out if he got too close to her.  He did, and they turned a dance of violence around the basement, fighting as enemies for the first time. 

                This went on for the better part of fifteen minutes.  Artemis, already injured, was panting and starting to show signs of weakening.  Thomas, while sweating slightly, showed barely any signs of wear.  He'd fought like this with his sensei for hours on end, since he'd been a few years old.

                "Put her down," Faith gasped from the floor, where she was still lying.  She was leaning in a semi-sitting position against the wall.

                "What's that supposed to mean?"

                "Kill her.  She's too dangerous to let live."

                "I won't do that.  She's not in control anymore."

                "_Fa__kku," _he said, as Artemis nearly hit him.

                It _did_ appear that Artemis had lost any semblance of control and sanity.  She was wild-eyed, and had nearly forsaken years of training in the martial arts to adopt a more feral fighting style, while she instinctively kept some of the blocks.  It was a deadly combination.  Her speed and instincts, for she appeared to be working solely on the instinctive level, provided Thomas with little opportunity to get a hit in that would drop her to the floor.  He debated pulling his _katana_ out of its sheath, but realized that that would be as dangerous to him as it would be to her.

                Again and again she hit him, her instincts startling him with attacks he would never have seen coming.  Still, his training had been more complete and intensive than hers.  He looked as though he was taking the hits, it felt to her like he was, but not one of them hit him hard enough to even get close to injuring.  Finally, she left a small opening and he took advantage of it, hitting a pressure point in her neck, causing her to fall to the ground, unconscious.

                He stalked over to Faith.  She raised a hand, expecting him to help her up.  He simply stared at her.

                "What's your problem?" she asked, starting to pull herself up.  She used the wall to brace herself.

                "Do _not_ ever tell me what to do with Artemis.  She is my responsibility.  You have nothing to do with her or what happens to her.  You do not know why she is this way.  You couldn't."  With that, he stalked back to where Artemis was stirring. 

                He hadn't hit her very hard, just enough to drop her.  She felt it though, and knew that she had to have gone pretty ballistic for him to have done that to her.

                "Look, if I hurt you, I didn't know what I was up to."

                He knew, from past experience,  that she wouldn't give him any more of an apology than that.

                "Pick up your sword," he said.  "We're still training."

****

                After she had stumbled up the stairs, Faith found Buffy in the kitchen.

                "That girl's a complete psycho!  She tried to kill me, and her Watcher."

                "Artemis?" Buffy asked.

                "Yeah.  She went absolutely nuts and just, I think it must have been a training session that went wrong."

                Buffy turned to Giles.  "Okay, now what?"

                Giles looked pensively at Buffy.  "I thought she was better now…This shouldn't have happened."

                "Better?  What's that supposed to mean?"  Faith glared at Giles.

                "She spent nearly a year in an institution, after she tried to kill…"  He stopped, as he realised how incriminating that sounded.

                "An institution?  So, what, we now have 2 psychopathic Slayers?  No offence, Faith."

                "None taken.  She really is a psycho?  I mean, she said she was, but I didn't believe her."

                "She's had problems in the past.  I was assured that she had completed her treatment and showed no signs of further mental illness."

                "So, we have proof that she's a psycho.  Now what?"  Buffy looked at Giles.

                "Wait.  Who'd she try to kill?"  Faith asked.

                "Her baby sister."

                "How dangerous is she?"

                "We have no way of knowing."

                "We do."  Faith stared at her hands.  "Lorne."

So.  Next chapter Lorne reads Artemis.  Stay tuned!!

Please Review!!


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